Funeral

To arrange a funeral, memorial or burial of ashes, please contact the vicar.

For those wishing to erect a memorial to a loved one, the regulations applicable to Highnam are reproduced below.

HIGHNAM CHURCHYARD REGULATIONS
The PCC agrees that The Church of England Diocese of Gloucester DAC Churchyard Regulations third edition 2015 including additions by the PCC will apply to Highnam Churchyard.

1 VacanciesWhen there is no parish priest, for example during vacancies, decisions about burials and memorials will be taken by the Rural Dean.

2 TypeThe Parish Priest can permit :
a) simple upright grave markers provided that they fall within the range and size and material
described below,
b) sloping ‘open-book’ memorials, provided that they fall within the range of size and material
described below,
c) wooden crosses provided that they do not exceed the dimensions described below,
d) additional inscriptions on existing memorials,
e) in respect of burial of cremated remains within a designated Garden of Remembrance, burial markers in accordance with local practice, provided that they fall within the range of permitted size and materials described below. Local practice will be defined by the Faculty under which any Garden of Remembrance within the churchyard was established.
f) in respect of burial of cremated remains within an existing grave, simple flush horizontal markers.

These measurements are not intended to define standard proportions of memorials, which may be of any dimensions within the given limits.

4 ShapeThe parish priest is not allowed to permit any other form of memorial, including horizontal ledger slabs, crosses other than wooden, kerbs, chippings, or sculpture. In the case of headstones, the memorial may be of the monolith type, i.e. fixed directly into the ground, or it may have a separate base and plinth.

5 LetteringOn any memorial permitted by the parish priest, the lettering may be incised or in relief, and may be infilled in a colour. Lead infilled lettering is permitted, but no other form of applied lettering. Care should be taken in selecting the wording, and advice sought from the incumbent. An imaginative approach to the epitaph is encouraged but excessive sentimentality is to be avoided. The mason’s name or mark may be inscribed on the side or on the reverse in letters no larger than ½ inch (13 mm) in height. No other advertisement or trade marks may be inscribed on or fixed to a memorial.

6 DecorationThe parish priest may permit appropriate Christian or other symbols, for example depictions of items connected with the profession or leisure interest of the person commemorated. The parish priest is NOT allowed to permit photographs or ceramic portraits or any other form
of depiction of the person commemorated.

7 Materials
The parish priest may permit memorials made of any natural stone or hardwood with the following exceptions:
• White marble
• Any granite other than unpolished grey
• Any other use of a reflective polished surface

Whenever there is doubt over the identity or suitability of any material, the matter should be referred in the first instance to the Benefice Secretary.

8 Permission
Requests for permission should be made in writing to the parish priest in the first instance, using the application form. Please note that a minimum of six months must elapse between the death of the person to be commemorated and the application for permission. If the parish priest is unable or unwilling to grant permission, then a Faculty will need to be applied for. The form of Faculty Petition should be obtained from the Diocesan Registry Clerk.

9 Maintenance
The PCC cannot be responsible for maintaining memorials in churchyards. Checks may however be carried out from time to time to ensure that memorials have not become hazardous. If it appears that a memorial is in a dangerous condition, the PCC may decide that it should be laid on the ground in order to avoid accidents. Those wishing to erect a memorial should bear in mind that the church insurances do not cover damage to churchyard memorials, and they may wish to consider arranging their own insurance cover. Anyone who erects a gravestone is legally responsible for any damage it might cause.

10 American-style Caskets
The parish priest may refuse to allow unusually large coffins. If you are proposing to order one of these, you should check whether it will be permitted in the churchyard. Funeral Directors are asked to point this out to their customers.

11 Flowers
Except where the design of a headstone includes an integral vessel for plants or cut flowers, flowers may only be placed in a removable container. Wreathes and cut flowers may be placed in such containers or laid on any grave, but must be removed as soon as they appear to be withered or dead.

Artificial flowers and other forms of non bio degradable decoration such as windmills and solar lights are not permitted in Highnam Churchyard

The PCC may at its discretion at any time remove and dispose of any wreaths, cut flowers or artificial flowers placed in the churchyard, if it is considered that they have deteriorated and/or become unsightly.

Bulbs and small annual plants may be planted in the soil of any grave. No trees or shrubs may be planted without the agreement of the PCC.

12 ReservationsIt is the policy of the PCC that a grave space may not be reserved